For Nokia the more things change, the more they remain the same – Alarming 18% Loss in Indian Mobile Marketshare

Nokia has become an also-ran in the Mobile Market despite a nearly 40% global marketshare which is being taken over by Google and Android.Smartphones are growing rapidly and will be soon the standard in mobiles except for some developing countries.Nokia despite having a leading marketshare in the Global Smartphone Segment has lost the plot here also.Like Research in Motion,Nokia has been the biggest loser in Mobiles after the Paradigm Shift brought by Apple’s iPhone.The Company has been on slope to potential obsolescence losing brand appeal,marketshare and pricing power.Its recent financial results have been abysmal as it continues to blunder around.Recently some big changes like N8,Meego and a new CEO had promised big changes but the recent fiasco with N8 Delays indicated that “more things change more they remain the same”

Nokia lost a Huge Chunk of Marketshare in India to Local Upstarts

Nokia had lost a big chunk of marketshare in 2009 to local competitors like Micromax,Lava,Spice and MNCs like Samsung,LG and others.In 2010,this trend has accelerated with Nokia losing an astounding 18% marketshare in the first 6 months of 2010.The company’s markshare has been whittled down to just 36% from 54% earlier with local Indian mobile makers gobbling up a 33% marketshare.In the $6.5 bb annual revenue market for mobiles in India,this implies a loss of $1 billion in 2010 revenues.For Nokia,this is another resounding defeat as its Indian Fortress crumbles.Nokia is getting squeezed both on the high end as well as the low end.Local Indian companies are coming up with better features at lower price points and beating Nokia black and blue.Despite huge R&D,manufacturing strengths and an enviable distribution network,Nokia has lost the pulse of the Indian customer.The smaller Indian companies like Micromax are receiving Private Equity money to expand faster given their huge success.Nokia clearly needs more than a change of CEO,it needs to change the whole culture and DNA of the company like IBM in the 1990s.

India’s 30,000 crore-a-year mobile handset market witnessed a skirmish between two big global names on Tuesday, with market leader Nokia disputing figures from influential research firm that showed its hold over the domestic market was weakening — and at an alarming pace.

IDC, whose data are closely tracked around the world, said Nokia’s share of the Indian handset market — its second biggest after — plunged to 36.3% at the end of June from 54% at the end of 2009, providing the Finnish giant’s critics more proof of its failure to keep pace with rapidlychanging customer preferences.

Nokia disputes IDC figures on market share

“The figures are way off the mark. They are not correct,” managing director D Shivakumar told ET. “Nokia continues to do well in India across all segments,” the company said in a statement which questioned IDC’s figures and said that the so-called ‘shipments’ cited by IDC “were not equivalent to actual sales and market shares” . “According to IDC, the dual-SIM category accounted for 38.5% of the overall market. As per our estimates, the dual-SIM segment represents 22% of the Indian handset market currently,” Nokia said, adding that IDC did not count shipments from its Chennai factory.

Sneha Shah

I am Sneha, the Editor-in-chief for the Blog. We would be glad to receive suggestions, inputs & comments on GWI from you guys to keep it going! You can contact me for consultancy/trade inquires by writing an email to greensneha@yahoo.in